Byrnesville, PA

Last year we visited Centralia, PA (blog entry here: Centralia 2013).  We returned again this year, but before we hit Centralia, we visited the lesser known town of Byrnesville, PA.

Byrnesville in the past (photo by Mike Reilley - used with permission)

Byrnesville was a town located near Centralia and was torn down due to the mine fire. The last home was demolished in 1996.

Last home that remained in Byrnesville 

(photo by Mike Reilley - used with permission)

The only structure that really remains in Byrnesville today is a shrine to the Blessed Mother.  

We did pass the shrine on our trek to Centralia last year but at the time did not know what it was all about so we didn't stop.  This year, being more educated, we made it a point to visit and were so glad we did.

Not only did we get to see the shrine, we had the privilege of meeting Mr. Mike Reilley. His father is the one who built the shrine many years ago and Mike is the person who maintains the shrine today.

Here are some shots of the interior. The photos are members of the Reilley family who have passed on.

Mike was such a great guy!  We spoke to him for about a half an hour and he was more than happy to share stories with us about Brynesville and his experiences. It sounds like Byrnesville was the typical nice small town filled with working class, salt-of-the-earth folks. The kind of town where we would love to live!

Mike shared with us that he intended to become a coal miner but the day that he went to get a job, the mines were shut down. He told us about his family and explained that he was able to make a pretty good life after having to leave Byrnesville.

In addition to maintaining the shrine, Mike also has an amazing website all about Brynesville past and present. There are some fantastic stories and pictures there, including a shot of Mike's own house being torn down. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to watch that happening.

Mike's website can be found here: http://byrnesville.com/

He told us that there used to be statues on either side of the shrine, but people being the jerks they are (my words, not his) they were taken and smashed. (Once again, I don't know why people have to be that way. Makes absolutely no sense to me).

Undeterred, though, Mike still keeps up the shrine. He was kind enough to give me permission to use his photos, but I have only posted two here, as I urge my readers to go to Mike's actual website and see the pictures there. I can't even say enough how nice he was. I have often wondered how the people who were affected by the Centralia mine fire react to tourists. It must be jarring to have people driving through your town/area all the time, taking pictures of what was a real tragedy. Mike was super kind about it all and even told me that having people visit makes what he does all worthwhile. I really appreciated that.

It's very sad to think about the mine fire and how it changed the lives of so many people. I guess we are guilty of doing the touristy thing by going to Centralia and Byrnesville and taking pictures, however, the Crew and I do this with the utmost respect for the people of these towns. I think it's important to share these stories because you never know when something like this can happen again. It's so heartbreaking.

Again, please take the time to check out Mike Reilley's website. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Coming up next will be a post about our second visit to Centralia, so stay tuned!

Until Next Time,

Miss Myo

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Centralia, PA

Warning sign that was once present at the Centralia site.

It was stolen so many times that the state stopped replacing it. (photo from the web)

Centralia, PA, is a pretty well known location, although - silly me - until we traveled there in June of 2013, I had never heard of it. We happened to be camping up in Pennsylvania and Mim realized that we weren't too far from Centralia so we spent the better part of a day exploring the area.

Centralia, PA is pretty much a ghost town, due to a mine fire that started in 1962 and continues to burn to this day. Most of the area is overgrown with vegetation; if you didn't know it was once a town, you might think it was just a random field. However, when you start driving or walking around the area, you will see sites like this:

This is smoke from the mine fire below. Throughout the area you can see various billows rising from the ground. Put your hand on the ground and you will feel the heat.

This is an abandoned road that runs through the Centralia area. 

Although most of the Centralia is completely gone, there are 10 residents who still remain in the town.

It was strange walking through the abandoned roads. I can't say that it was creepy exactly; even though the place is pretty much deserted, I had a feeling of peace as we walked around the area. 

Unfortunately it seems that people like to dump trash on the site that was once a great town.  I refused to take a picture of the liter, but suffice to say there were several bags of refuse, a mattress, and a plastic patio chair. Why do people have to be so disrespectful? Even though the area is abandoned and there's not much there, to me places like this are still sacred and should be treated as such (okay, rant over).

This picture, actually from Wikipedia, shows the part of Route 61 that once led to Centralia and is now abandoned.

(photo from the web)

This tree has signs on it that say "Wood Street" and "Fire."  One of the remaining residents got tired of people knocking on his door and asking where to find Wood Street, so he nailed these signs to a tree, showing folks the way. (I did not take this picture; I found it on the internet.  We did see the signs, however at the time we didn't realize what they were for, or else we would have taken a few shots ourselves).

A couple more shots of the ground in Centralia. 

There is actually one church that remains in Centralia, St. Mary's, and services are still held there each Sunday. 

(photo from the web)

There are also four cemeteries in Centralia. We visited one, which is Russian Orthodox, and took a few pictures:

If you would like to learn more about Centralia, PA, I highly recommend the book Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire by David DeKok. Mr. DeKok spent years researching the history of Centralia, the mine fire, and the reasons why the fire was never put out (spoiler alert: it's due to bureaucratic red tape more than anything else).

Centralia before the fire. (photo from the web)

I do give a lot of credit to the residents who remain in Centralia, although I don't know how safe it actually is. This entire situation was definitely mishandled by The Powers That Be and the State of Pennsylvania. 

They say the fire could burn for another 250 years at least. The fire extended into the neighboring town of Byrnesville and that had to be abandoned too. 

As cool as this site is, I only hope that no one is ever seriously injured or killed as a result of the fire that keeps burning underground, and that no more towns are wiped off of the map because of it.

Interesting fact: I couldn't get reception on my phone in the town where we were camping, or even in the surrounding area..and yet I had no trouble getting a signal in Centralia!

Some trivia: Centralia, PA was the inspiration for the film adaptation of the game Silent Hill...

Very spooky stuff indeed!

Until Next Time...

Miss Myo

xoxoxoxo